Serious Fraud Office (SFO) angling for increase in annual budget to take on “blockbuster cases” March 13, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is having “ongoing conversations” about the way it is funded after questions have been raised regarding its current arrangements. The BBC reported that the prosecutor was in talks with the Treasury to increase its annual budget, which currently sits at £31m. The body often asks the Treasury for an extra [...]
PwC, Tesco, JP Morgan, British Science Association, NatWest, women in tech March 8, 2018 PwC is launching a new initiative today called Tech She Can, to get more women into technology-related jobs. The company is collaborating with 17 other corporations — ranging from Tesco to JP Morgan — to tear down barriers for women entering technology by creating what they dubbed a “tech talent pipeline”. Sheridan Ash, the PwC [...]
WeWork could move into Debenhams on Oxford Street as retailers seek solutions for excess space March 7, 2018 Debenhams is in talks to rent out space in its Oxford Street flagship store to co-working space provider WeWork, it has emerged. The retailer has put out feelers to find occupants for excess space in its large stores, according to Bloomberg. WeWork has become London’s biggest occupier of office space after rapid expansion in the [...]
Done deal: Tesco completes £3.7bn acquisition of Booker Group March 5, 2018 Tesco today completed its acquisition of Booker Group, creating the leading food group in the UK. The £3.7bn deal was given court approval on Friday after shareholders voted it through last week. Booker Group's shares have been de-listed from the London Stock Exchange. Each share has been exchanged for 42.5p in cash, and 0.861 new [...]
Access Denied: The fight against cyber criminals March 5, 2018 Cyber-attacks defy borders and jurisdictions and are recognised as a Tier One threat to national security by the UK government. As the world becomes more connected, the attacks are becoming stronger, more frequent and more sophisticated. Nearly half of UK businesses identified at least one cyber security attack in 2016, according to UK government data, [...]
Done deal: Tesco completes £3.7bn acquisition of Booker Group | City A.M. March 5, 2018 Tesco today completed its acquisition of Booker Group, creating the leading food group in the UK. The £3.7bn deal was given court approval on Friday after shareholders voted it through last week. Booker Group’s shares have been de-listed from the London Stock Exchange. Each share has been exchanged for 42.5p in cash, and 0.861 new [...]
Last Week in the City: Trump threatens trade war March 2, 2018 This week US President Donald Trump threatened a trade war, a number of famous high street names, including Toys R Us and Maplin, got into serious trading trouble and upbeat assessments of the US economy from central bankers helped the US dollar to rally, reversing its recent trend. The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent [...]
Retail job losses could number 15,000 as industry strains under cost pressures March 1, 2018 At least 15,000 retail sector jobs have either been slashed this year or are now at risk as household names sink into administration, according to calculations by City A.M. Toys R Us and Maplin went into administration yesterday, putting more than 5,500 jobs in doubt. The double-whammy for the industry comes after fashion chain East [...]
It’s official: Tesco and Booker will merge to form UK’s largest food group February 28, 2018 Booker Group's shareholders have backed Tesco's £3.7bn bid for the wholesaler today, giving Tesco boss Dave Lewis the green light to create to UK's largest food group. Reuters reported that 83.4 per cent of Booker investors approved the deal; Booker needed the backing of 75 per cent of votes for the merger to go ahead. [...]
Gender pay gap: Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) pays women 37 per cent less than men February 23, 2018 Royal Bank of Scotland Group may have announced its first annual profit in a decade this morning, but it wasn’t all good news for the state-backed lender. RBS said it pays women about 37 per cent less than men on average, largely due to men holding more senior roles. The bank announced that women held [...]